I appreciate how cautious you were in this video... I know a bit about hunger, and realised that when the body is REALLY in need, he tends to be stronger than the mind. Probably the animal inside us pops out, and mutates our knowledges, our values, and finaly all the mind, into some kind of blind rage. I think that's a way humans can become temporally "inhumans". But when the stomac is satisfied, then the human comes back, and asks "What have I done?"...
Thanks a lot for the google science link! I did research using Ant Colony Optimization Technique and Genetic Algorithms to solve traffic network problems. That video was so interesting!
I can't imagine being so desperate for food that I would eat people. I guess that's one of the risks of colonizing a completely foreign environment. It's why the proposed Mars mission makes me a little uneasy. It is very possible history could repeat itself if something went wrong on it.
Anytime you can put science and history together is great. Jamestown is a wonderful place to visit. They were amazingly unprepared - even hanging out on the beach in suits of armor.
I don't see any problem with them eating the girl. She was already dead, and they were starving to death. The other incident with the wife was not acceptable in my opinion because she was already alive. Many animals experience cannibalism and I don't see it as a wrong thing (well, in some cases... ).
Cannibalism is a rather common occurrence throughout history, even in cultures that did not have a custom of cannibalism. Humans will go to great lengths to survive in extreme circumstances. Eating a human may be considered wrong by a culture, but if the situation is eat or starve, there will be people eating the food available. It's likely that cannibalism will continue to happen as long as there are humans in dire need of sustenance.
Oh and I forgot to add, the mutation wasn't favored because they ate regular meat but because they specifically ate human meat which has a higher probability to cause the prion disease so there was a favoritism towards mutation that immune the human to them,
I could never blame someone for cannibalism in a last ditch effort when done "respectfully," i.e. not torturing the victim. Though that's really the only excusable case; ritual and desire certainly aren't.
Interesting. Though the symptoms of the spongy cow brain disease seems to be ridiculously similar to what happens to me every Friday/Sat night, lol. Though seriously, it does make sense that we would've naturally selected for prion ingestion resistance. We do eat a lot of meat after all. I wonder though, if there were vegetarian societies, would they have this sort of resistance?
Alex - the Jamestown settlers were correct to eat the girl. Days after burial is questionable but goes to show just how despair had set in. From history it seems this group of colonists were not well prepared for life in the 'new world'. The Spanish did better than the English as they typically did not bring over their women and children until a colony had been well established. In this context - cannibalism made sense. ps: why no glasses this week?
Out of curiosity, is this one of the cultures that practices cannibalism as part of their usual death rites? That would mean eating human flesh much more often than the incidental cases she mentions in the video. But to the question, you can get prion diseases from eating the brains of other animals. I've heard of cases happening in Vietnam, where cat brains are a delicacy, so this may not be a problem with eating human flesh as much as with eating brain tissue in general.
This might not be relevant to this video but there have been cases of cannibalism in the tribes of Papua New Guinea. The tribesmen would consume the brains of the deceased and many eventually developed Kuru disease. This disease is similar to the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a prion disease. The transmission was due to consuming diseased people. Though this is probably not THE reason for cannibalism being taboo but it possibly A reason: the transmission of disease. What are your thoughts on that?
I've never realized that cannibalism could be such a sensitive matter to people. I've been discussing it openly for as long as I can remember. I wonder if there was any experience you had that marked it as a social taboo. In one of the most recent of those discussions, my friend (B.S. in biomedicine) dismissed it due to risk of prions. Only that settled the matter for me.
I do wonder, how healthy would it be to actually eat a human? I mean, from what I can recall of my admittedly limited education in Biology, wasn't Mad Cow the result of cows eating cow? I also seem to remember something about livestock being fed pieces of other livestock getting sick. Would the same hold true for humans?
As she said in the video, the girl had eaten a high protein diet. She was probably clearly more well off than most others and probably had a relatively healthy physique when she passed. You always eat the thicker meat before the stringy meat, and if they were resorting to eating the dead anyway, may as well dig up the people you remember to have more meat on them.
Considering the gruesome stuff people do to people in order to maintain power relations, cannibalizing a corpse because you're starving doesn't strike me as a particularly awful occurrence. That thing with the guy who killed/ate his wife was awful though.
Your final point is excellent. Science providing tools for history is ultimately a good thing, even if that tool uncovers a less than appealing truth. It's also good that you illustrated the difference between desperation and depravity with the story of the murderer. His actions, no matter how desperate, cross an obvious line of morality. Having said that, Cannibalism on Bite Sci-zed... hehehe...
Well, think about it. If they are vegetarians natural selection won't favor the mutation for resistance against prions because there is no need for it.
Great vid. You really don't need to apologize for scientific discussions or research if it's socially taboo or touchy. Also, doesn't eating cerebral tissue give people Kuru?
There's a clinical side of me that feels to defend the cannibals for their actions is the same as celebrating them, not knowing what their motivations were or their willingness to participate. Is it better just to die of starvation with morals intact?
When you die, unless you are cremated your body is going to be eaten anyway. Normally your body will provide food for bugs and worms. In a starvation situation isn't it better your body goes to saving the lives of your friends rather than providing more bug food when your friends follow you in death?
It depends on your view. There are some cultures where eating the remains of the dead is a part of traditional death rites, so cannibalism isn't universally considered immoral. Of course, for the people of Jamestown it was almost certainly among the strongest of taboos. This gets into deeper questions about how universal morality is and what things really are deeply wrong.
There are modern examples. The plane that crashed in the Andes in 1972 is one that springs immediately to mind. The truth is that dead flesh is dead flesh and the idea that human bodies are somehow imbued with some mystical power is extremely ancient. Early hominins such as the Cro-Magnons practised complex burial rituals. Ritual cannibalism actually tries to harness that power so that it flows to individual eating the human flesh; not to mention the Christian practice of transubstantiation.
Ermahgerd, zermberz :o. Makes me wonder what may occur during the colonization of Mars though. Debris, critical system errors, general malfunctions...its a long trip to mars and there's no absolution of safety along the way.
I don't get how a person could be disturbed by a discussion of cannibalism. Images weren't shown, and essentially the same thing occurs on a mass scale of non-human animals. I get that its taboo, but w.e. shit happens, people do what they need to do to survive and if you want to be eaten it should be well within your rights to be eaten. I just don't understand how they could be disturbed....
Where would you cross the line, personally? We of course murder animals everyday to allow us to eat (not trying to make a moral judgement, just setting a baseline). The stated case was a bit screwed up, but what if it were the other way around? What if the wife had killed her husband? What if a husband willingly gives his body so his wife and children can eat? Is that still disturbing?
I appreciate how cautious you were in this video... I know a bit about hunger, and realised that when the body is REALLY in need, he tends to be stronger than the mind. Probably the animal inside us pops out, and mutates our knowledges, our values, and finaly all the mind, into some kind of blind rage. I think that's a way humans can become temporally "inhumans". But when the stomac is satisfied, then the human comes back, and asks "What have I done?"...
Thanks a lot for the google science link! I did research using Ant Colony Optimization Technique and Genetic Algorithms to solve traffic network problems. That video was so interesting!
Unusual video
Gorgeous Alex still makes my Mondays :)
I can't imagine being so desperate for food that I would eat people. I guess that's one of the risks of colonizing a completely foreign environment. It's why the proposed Mars mission makes me a little uneasy. It is very possible history could repeat itself if something went wrong on it.
Anytime you can put science and history together is great. Jamestown is a wonderful place to visit. They were amazingly unprepared - even hanging out on the beach in suits of armor.
What did the Jamestown surivor say to the dinner guest who arrived late?
"I'm sorry, everyone's eaten".
I don't see any problem with them eating the girl. She was already dead, and they were starving to death. The other incident with the wife was not acceptable in my opinion because she was already alive. Many animals experience cannibalism and I don't see it as a wrong thing (well, in some cases... ).
Cannibalism is a rather common occurrence throughout history, even in cultures that did not have a custom of cannibalism. Humans will go to great lengths to survive in extreme circumstances. Eating a human may be considered wrong by a culture, but if the situation is eat or starve, there will be people eating the food available. It's likely that cannibalism will continue to happen as long as there are humans in dire need of sustenance.
Oh and I forgot to add, the mutation wasn't favored because they ate regular meat but because they specifically ate human meat which has a higher probability to cause the prion disease so there was a favoritism towards mutation that immune the human to them,
I could never blame someone for cannibalism in a last ditch effort when done "respectfully," i.e. not torturing the victim. Though that's really the only excusable case; ritual and desire certainly aren't.
Interesting. Though the symptoms of the spongy cow brain disease seems to be ridiculously similar to what happens to me every Friday/Sat night, lol.
Though seriously, it does make sense that we would've naturally selected for prion ingestion resistance. We do eat a lot of meat after all. I wonder though, if there were vegetarian societies, would they have this sort of resistance?
Alex - the Jamestown settlers were correct to eat the girl. Days after burial is questionable but goes to show just how despair had set in. From history it seems this group of colonists were not well prepared for life in the 'new world'. The Spanish did better than the English as they typically did not bring over their women and children until a colony had been well established. In this context - cannibalism made sense.
ps: why no glasses this week?
Out of curiosity, is this one of the cultures that practices cannibalism as part of their usual death rites? That would mean eating human flesh much more often than the incidental cases she mentions in the video.
But to the question, you can get prion diseases from eating the brains of other animals. I've heard of cases happening in Vietnam, where cat brains are a delicacy, so this may not be a problem with eating human flesh as much as with eating brain tissue in general.
This might not be relevant to this video but there have been cases of cannibalism in the tribes of Papua New Guinea. The tribesmen would consume the brains of the deceased and many eventually developed Kuru disease. This disease is similar to the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a prion disease. The transmission was due to consuming diseased people. Though this is probably not THE reason for cannibalism being taboo but it possibly A reason: the transmission of disease. What are your thoughts on that?
I've never realized that cannibalism could be such a sensitive matter to people. I've been discussing it openly for as long as I can remember. I wonder if there was any experience you had that marked it as a social taboo.
In one of the most recent of those discussions, my friend (B.S. in biomedicine) dismissed it due to risk of prions. Only that settled the matter for me.
I do wonder, how healthy would it be to actually eat a human? I mean, from what I can recall of my admittedly limited education in Biology, wasn't Mad Cow the result of cows eating cow? I also seem to remember something about livestock being fed pieces of other livestock getting sick. Would the same hold true for humans?
As she said in the video, the girl had eaten a high protein diet. She was probably clearly more well off than most others and probably had a relatively healthy physique when she passed.
You always eat the thicker meat before the stringy meat, and if they were resorting to eating the dead anyway, may as well dig up the people you remember to have more meat on them.
Considering the gruesome stuff people do to people in order to maintain power relations, cannibalizing a corpse because you're starving doesn't strike me as a particularly awful occurrence. That thing with the guy who killed/ate his wife was awful though.
Your final point is excellent. Science providing tools for history is ultimately a good thing, even if that tool uncovers a less than appealing truth. It's also good that you illustrated the difference between desperation and depravity with the story of the murderer. His actions, no matter how desperate, cross an obvious line of morality.
Having said that, Cannibalism on Bite Sci-zed... hehehe...
Well, think about it.
If they are vegetarians natural selection won't favor the mutation for resistance against prions because there is no need for it.
Jane from Jamestown? If it occurred in Alexandria, would they have named her Alex?
Great vid. You really don't need to apologize for scientific discussions or research if it's socially taboo or touchy. Also, doesn't eating cerebral tissue give people Kuru?
There's a clinical side of me that feels to defend the cannibals for their actions is the same as celebrating them, not knowing what their motivations were or their willingness to participate. Is it better just to die of starvation with morals intact?
I got so happy when I saw the "likes bar" and the red part is minimal :)
Viewers didn't react badly to the video, a clear evidence of develoment
It is really sad that our history is littered with dark times that we had to go so far as to eat whatever was within reach.
Actually because of cannibals most humans were saved:
/watch?v=Cubu-k7kSvw
Watch it all it's a good one
That dinosaur in the back is soo awesome!
I was just staring at it, i couldn't focus on what u were talking! lol!~
When you die, unless you are cremated your body is going to be eaten anyway. Normally your body will provide food for bugs and worms. In a starvation situation isn't it better your body goes to saving the lives of your friends rather than providing more bug food when your friends follow you in death?
You probably have to think of ease of access and the idea of wealth being equated to girth in those times.
Alex you haven't yet shared your opinion with us.
I am really anxious to know
The first rule of nerdfighteria is....
Actually, I'm not sure. So whatever. Go nuts. ^_^
Great info! Thanx!
The comments for this video give me hope for humanity. The discussion is wonderful.
I do! Yesterday was just a busy day, so I haven't gotten around to much commenting yet :)
The doobily dooooos!! Yes!!! Informative for sure. Rock on.
since you called it the "doobly-doo" i have to ask: are you a nerdfighter?
You should check out the movie THE NEW WORLD it shows this in the movie
I wonder why people didn't eat grass in Jamestown, or rather, the juice.
she could also just be a beardlover, since wheezy creted "doobly doo" :)
Alex, you should be more active on Google+! just sayin... :)
hey alex u should look into "symbiogenesis" very interesting
... Do I see another nerdfighter????
Great video by the way!
It depends on your view. There are some cultures where eating the remains of the dead is a part of traditional death rites, so cannibalism isn't universally considered immoral. Of course, for the people of Jamestown it was almost certainly among the strongest of taboos. This gets into deeper questions about how universal morality is and what things really are deeply wrong.
I'm on a Bite Sci-zed marathon... SCIENCE! :D
There are modern examples. The plane that crashed in the Andes in 1972 is one that springs immediately to mind. The truth is that dead flesh is dead flesh and the idea that human bodies are somehow imbued with some mystical power is extremely ancient. Early hominins such as the Cro-Magnons practised complex burial rituals.
Ritual cannibalism actually tries to harness that power so that it flows to individual eating the human flesh; not to mention the Christian practice of transubstantiation.
It's ok. My cinnamon raisin toast is still delicious.
Ermahgerd, zermberz :o.
Makes me wonder what may occur during the colonization of Mars though. Debris, critical system errors, general malfunctions...its a long trip to mars and there's no absolution of safety along the way.
Does Alex ever comment or reply on her vids? sort of new here. regards.
Was the tortured executed man then eaten?
I don't get how a person could be disturbed by a discussion of cannibalism. Images weren't shown, and essentially the same thing occurs on a mass scale of non-human animals. I get that its taboo, but w.e. shit happens, people do what they need to do to survive and if you want to be eaten it should be well within your rights to be eaten. I just don't understand how they could be disturbed....
Look up 1972 Andes flight disaster ....
Should not have watched around lunch.
just one kiss would not be enough!
i cant find the doobly doo!!!!!
thanks for the info again.
isn't that from wheezy waiter
Human farming is not practicable. Takes too long to go from fertilization to having a large enough body. Also the feeding is too expensive.
Swans eat each other?
Alex your gorgeous
I always suspected locusts had no morals
You're, my bad
Where would you cross the line, personally? We of course murder animals everyday to allow us to eat (not trying to make a moral judgement, just setting a baseline). The stated case was a bit screwed up, but what if it were the other way around? What if the wife had killed her husband? What if a husband willingly gives his body so his wife and children can eat? Is that still disturbing?
Isn't doobly-doo the official nomenclature?
you need theme music. check out vsauce.
Donner party!
your so beautiful!
One Thing. Promise me that you won't change your face even your lovely teeth, after you will get rich (hope!...X)
lol i was eating while watching this